Using virtual tour content to support social distancing requirements post lockdown

Audio guides have been an almost omnipresent part of the visitor experience for many large visitor attractions and museums since their original inception in the 1950s, adding content and context to enhance a visitors' experience.

Over time, the technology has of course become far more aligned with the phones in our pockets, and yet has, in general, remained stubbornly a piece of additional hardware to be carried around. Of course, there are a variety of very sound reasons for this; including copyright and other salient aspects which have kept things, to a degree, where they are.

One related area though, which has remained fully in the public’s more immediate grasp; is the virtual tour. The plethora of wonderful vistas and insights developed really quickly by a huge array of products to remain engaged with visitors during the period of lockdown internationally has in many ways become the great leveller when it comes to audience engagement.

Perhaps for the first time, destinations, gardens, small museums, country properties, golf courses, castles, restaurants, pubs, major museums and attractions have all been able to showcase video to highlight all that people crave for from their next planned travel destinations whilst sitting at home using their personal devices.

The one aspect that is missing from the virtual tour that everyone that has ever been on a real world tour knows all too well – is people. They are, with no pun intended, a sanitized version of what visitors will see when they return.

With this in mind, there are two distinct approaches that I would like to suggest for consideration:

The first would be the suggestion of a virtual guide to explain what your planning is likely to be in terms of contact with staff, food and drink possibilities, hand sanitizer provision, toilets and of course physical spacing around venues.

With an emphasis focussed entirely on reassurance; it could be used as a precursor to a visit for those that want to know. My previous article touched on the point that visitors – especially those with children, will already potentially have raised anxiety levels, and visiting an attraction first and foremost is an exciting and ideally relaxing experience. If there is an opportunity to showcase provisions being made to maintain a safe and relaxing experience for all, this may be a benefit to anyone that may be worried about making their first visits beyond their most immediate vicinity. There is also the secondary benefit that tour operators and the travel industry in general will also be able to use this for their own benefit when working on their planning

My second point for consideration concerns a the possibility of a second audio and/or video download directly to visitors phones for use on arrival. This could be for the short to medium term for those venues that have existing audio guides, and potentially longer term for those venues for whom investment in an audio guide system is either impractical or prohibitively expensive. These downloads could make use of some of the content of the virtual tours – especially those involving curators or other experts, to create content that is also interspersed with low key practical information on safeguarding measures on site. This could potentially reduce the requirements for as much physical reinforcement of social distancing policies with a goal of reducing on site stress levels for visitors, particularly in the early days post opening.  The end result could be a return to a pure focus on the visitor experience itself; with a complete integration of the common sense policies and practical visitor management that is clearly required, in a way that visitors don’t notice.

Personalising tours and activities has been a major component of the visitor experience for quite a while now and ultimately, the integration of a strong socially responsible message relevant to our new reality will become another strand of this. The opportunity to do this could be realised regardless of size, location or type of venue and may prove to be a way to bridge the gap between what once was and what comes next.